HUNTER Valley’s Thoroughbred industry has “big coal” on its knees in a pitched battle for a strip of land that separates a mine from some of the world’s finest horse studs.
Anglo American applied to extend its 30-year-old open cut Drayton mine toward Darley and Coolmore studs last year.
The Thoroughbred industry said this jeopardised the operations of the lynchpins of the district’s equine industry.
The Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) advises the Department of Planning, and has the last word on development approvals.
The PAC is yet to make a final decision and must consider a report from the Director General before making a ruling.
But the PAC would be hard pushed to back down from its already unusually forthright recommendations, which said Anglo’s mine should not be approved.
Anglo needs to tap the reserves in the proposed extension or Drayton will run out of coal by 2017.
The mine employs 500 people and the extension would prolong its life by 25 years. Anglo called the PAC recommendations a “severe blow” and “extremely concerning”.
The NSW Minerals Council said it was “disappointing for the people of NSW”.
Big coal has big benefits, but this time it butted heads with an equal force.
Anglo is one of the world’s biggest mining companies. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – who is not short of a dollar or influence himself – owns Darley.
PAC heard Drayton contributed $35 million in royalties to the State, $70m to local businesses each year and the Drayton South extension would create more than 300 jobs during the construction phase.
The Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association represents Coolmore and Darley.
Its director, Dr Cameron Collins, said the studs pumped a combined $120m into the local economy each year, supported 640 jobs and the net economic loss to NSW would be $457m if the studs relocated interstate.
Darley is part of Sheikh Mohammed’s global Thorou-ghbred breeding empire.
He’s also the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and monarch of Dubai.
Advice from independent expert Terry Short, of La Tierra, stated: “While (Anglo’s environmental assessment report) clearly states it recognises the value of the Thoroughbred breeding industry in the region is greater than $100m, it inexplicably concludes no economic or socio-economic impact on either stud or the CIC.”
